According to a study conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Sinapore was the most expensive city to live in for two years in a row, in 2013 and in 2014.
In my opinion, I feel that this is not true. Although Singapore is an expensive city, I don't believe that it is the most expensive country. However, this does not mean that the ranking is inaccurate, it is just that the data used in the ranking does not reflect the cost of everything in Singapore.
Firstly, the question we should answer is: What is the purpose of this ranking? According to channel news asia, this ranking aims to give an indication of the relative differences in the cost of living in global cities for expatriates or business travellers so that companies abroad will know how much it will cost in order to send an employee to Singapore for work.
Hence, most of the data used only measure the luxuries that expatriates enjoy like fine dining and formal suits etc. Most of these things are very expensive in Singapore.
The first data presented in the video was the cost of cars in Singapore. Singapore is one of the most expensive cities to own a car in because it has a small land area and has limited space. Thus, in order to control the amount of cars on the road, Certificates of Entitlement (COE) and taxes are very costly so that only the higher paid population can afford it. For example, in Malaysia, a brand new Toyota will only cost US$35K whereas in Singapore it will cost a total of US$110K. This shows that the COE and tax prices are actually higher than the cost of the car itself. This seems hard to believe but it is true.
Now, we have to ask ourselves: Is this a fair comparison? I don't think it is fair, because the high prices is because of Singapore's small land area and high population. If everyone in Singapore could afford to buy a car, there will be frequent and heavy traffic jams. Whereas in other countries like Malaysia, they have larger land area and can afford to have more cars on the road, and hence the car prices need not be so high in order to allow a higher number of people to afford the cars.
The second data presented in the video is utilities cost. According to the survey, Singapore is ranked the third most expensive city in utilities cost. Why is this so? I feel that this is because Singapore has no natural resources and most of our natural resources are imported from overseas and import is very costly, leading to the high cost of utilities in Singapore.
For example, for water, Singapore has the four national taps strategy, one of which is importing water from Malaysia. The cost of importing water is very expensive. Another strategy is NEWater, where waste water is purified to make drinking water. This is also another expensive process. Hence, this explains the high cost of water in Singapore.
The third data presented was clothings, and Singapore is also high on the list for the cost of clothes. I feel that this is because Singapore does enough land in to heard sheeps and grow cotton plants, which will provide the material for making clothes in Singapore. Since Singapore does not have the materials, it will have to import materials from other countries, hence the rise in cost of clothing in Singapore. Furthermore, there are more and more luxury brands around the world, and as Singapore continues to import more of them, the price of clothing will also increase.
The next data presented is housing cost. According to the video, it says that Singapore's housing cost is at a record high and will continue to rise. On further research, I found out that the price per square meter to buy an apartment outside the city centre is S$12,598. That is a surprisingly high prize. I feel that housing prices in Singapore are high because Singapore has a high population and there is a high demand for housing in Singapore. In addition, high housing prices also encourages the young to stay with their parents under one apartment, so that they will not have to spend more money buying two separate apartments.
However, here is the contradicting part. Singapore has one of the cheapest public transport and hawker food. Therefore, instead of buying a car, Singaporeans can opt to take public transport instead. Furthermore, Singapore's public transport system is fast, convenient and cheap so why not? Next, Singapore's hawker food is also very cheap. A plate of chicken rice at Boon Lay MRT Station only costs a mere S$2. Hence, instead of eating at fine dining restaurants, Singaporeans can instead choose to eat hawker food which is cheap and delicious as well.
Overall, I am quite satisfied living in Singapore as the government still offers a lot of subsidies in spite of the high cost of living so in conclusion, living in Singapore is still relatively affordable.
MERLION A SUITABLE NATIONAL ICON?
The first word of the title, 'merlion', is something that most Singaporeans to familiar with, and hence I will just give some background information about it. 'Merlion' is the result of combining the two words 'Mermaid' and 'Lion' together to form one word. The merlion is a traditional creature with the body of a fish and the head of a lion.
Next, the last two words of the title are 'national icon' and how we define these two words will largely affect whether merlion will be suitable as a national icon. By dictionary definition, national icon is a 'symbol of any entity considering itself or manifesting itself to the world as a national community'. Rephrased in my own words, a national icon is any creature, plant, object, symbol that represents the nation, that when people see the icon, they immediately know which country it is.
Hence, this raises a question in my mind:" What is the function of a national icon? Why do countries choose to have a national icon?" In order to understand this, we need to make use of an example, the merlion. In this case, since a national icon represents a nation, we need to ask ourselves:" What aspects/parts of our country does the merlion represent?" To me, the fish body represents the fishing village early Singapore had been before it started development and the lion head represents the name of Singapore, 'Singapura', as well as the story of Sang Nila Utama. Thus, this shows that the merlion represents the history of Singapore.
Going back to the initial question: "What is the function of a national icon?", after replacing 'national icon' with 'representation of Singapore's history', we get:"What is the function of a representation of Singapore's history? What is its effect on the people of Singapore?" In my opinion, I think that since all Singaproeans know and learn about the history of Singapore, the merlion will be an icon that includes all the people of Singapore unites them. Therefore, the function of a national icon to me is that it unites the people of a nation through representations of a nation's history/people.
Lastly, the third word of the post title, 'suitable' is a very important word. It is an adjective that describes the merlion and the way we define it will determine the criteria we use to asses the merlion's suitability as a national icon.
There are a few factors to consider when we determine whether the merlion is a suitable national icon. First, we need to compare it with other possible icons, what makes it better, what makes it not as suitable. Secondly, we must determine whether it will have a positive or negative effect on the people of Singapore. Lastly, we must ask ourselves if the merlion has managed to achieve the function of a national icon, which is to unite the people of Singapore.
For the first criteria, comparison with other possible national icons, I will list the possible icons, and then go on to compare them with the merlion. Some possible national icons are: Singlish, the lion head symbol etc.
1. Singlish vs. Merlion
Many people think of Singlish as one of our national icons but I choose to disagree for a number of reasons. First, it is not original. Singlish is actually based on Standard UK English but with slangs and dialects added in. So, here is my question: Why take something that is originally from UK and put it as our Singapore icon? However, people might say that after adding slangs and dialect, Singlish has become unique to Singapore, and it is something that Singapore has. I still disagree. I feel that this is almost like copying, taking a language from UK, then adding slangs and dialect, and then naming it after Singapore. It is like taking your friend's iPad and changing the wallpaper and lockscreen and then saying that it is yours. It's not.
Whereas for the merlion, it is born and created in Singapore, from Singapore's history. Singapore was a fishing village in the past, and it is represented by the fish body on the merlion. This history is unique to Singapore and isn't taken from any other country. The past happened in Singapore and this is why we can use our past to represent us Singaporeans.
Second, not everyone in Singapore supports the speaking of Singlish. Some Singaporeans disapprove of Singlish and still prefer standard English. Hence, if we use Singlish as our national icon, we are not able to include and everyone due to those few who are still unsupportive of Singlish.
However, the merlion as the national icon on the other hand will be able to include everyone. This is because the merlion represents Singapore's history, and history is something that has happened in the past and cannot be changed no matter what. Hence, everyone will accept the history of Singapore and if we use the merlion as Singapore's national icon, we will be able to include and unite everyone.
2. Lion Head Symbol vs. Merlion
The lion head symbol is seen in many places around Singapore, and many might think that it is a good national icon, but personally, I think that the merlion will be a more suitable national icon as compared to the lion head symbol, reason being that both the merlion and the lion head symbol have lions, but the merlion has something more, something that makes a huge difference: the fish body. Both the lion heads signify 'Singapura' the name of our country. It shows how Singapore in the present is majestic and strong like a lion. But the merlion, with the extra fish body, also shows the past of Singapore as a fishing village. Whereas as compared to the lion head symbol which only depicts the present. Hence, since the merlion represents Singapore from the past to the present, I feel that it is more suitable as a national icon as compared to the lion head symbol which only represents the present.
Moving on to the second criteria, some national icons might have a negative effect on people rather than a positive one. For example, Singlish is one of them. As mentioned above, Singlish is derived from Standard English and since it is something that we took from another country, will it be something that we would want to be proud of? Is it having a negative effect? I believe so. Since people started recognising Singlish as a national icon, there has been a more distinct segregation between the supporters of Standard English and non-standard English. Here we see why Singlish is not suitable as a national icon.
On the contrary, the merlion will have the a positive impact of Singaporeans, as the merlion represents Singapore's past and present. It makes us remember how Singapore developed from a smalll fishing village into a bustling metropolis it is today. This idea of progress and achievement will make Singaporeans feel a shared sense of pride for their country, and hence the positive impact.
For the last criteria, it is whether the merlion has managed to match its definition of a national icon, which is to unite the people of a nation. In my opinion, I feel that the merlion has managed to do that. But now we must ask ourselves: What does unity of a country mean? To me, I think that unity is when the people of a country have shared feelings that positive. As mentioned before, the merlion evokes a shared sense of pride in all Singaporeans. When Singaporeans feel this sense of pride together, they will be united.
Therefore, in conclusion, the merlion is a suitable national icon for Singapore.
CID SPEECH REFLECTION
Two Fridays ago, I made a speech on multi-racialism in Singapore. Below is the picture I used as reference.
Multi-racialism and racial harmony did not come easy for us Singapore. We have fought hard and come a long way since the racial riots in the 20th century. Back in the past, racial discrimination was common. Since the British Colonization, the races of Singapore have been separated from one another. The Chinese in China Town, the Indians in Little India, the British in Orchard Road etc. Moreover, there was a great influence from Malaysia. In the late 20th century, television was widespread and Singaporeans could watch Malaysian TV. The Malaysian rulers believed that Malays should be at the top of the Malaysian Society and as such this influenced and caused many disputes between races in Singapore.
This was a pressing problem we had to overcome. Firstly, our government introduced the HDB. The Chinese, Malays and Indians were allocated flats in a fixed ratio so that people of different races could live under the same shelter and bond together. Secondly, the idea of meritocracy was introduced. Regardless of race, language, religion or gender, the belief was: The best people for the best jobs. This way, different races could work together under the same corporation, and Malays, Indians could join Parliament and even take up leadership positions. Lastly, national service was introduced. Although initially it was intended as a measure to strengthen Singapore's military strength, we came to realize that it was also a useful way to bond men across different races. All teenagers/young adults had to serve NS together regardless of race. Therefore, through this shared experience, they built a bond across racial barriers.
To me, I feel that we are born in a very lucky time frame. Singapore is already a first world country and there is nothing much to worry about. Racial discrimination is no longer an issue.
Well of course, nothing is perfect and on auto-pilot. There are of course problems that could arise from this seemingly harmonious society. We have been progressing rather decently since independence, until the higher increase of Islam came. (I am speaking of my own opinion here and do not intend to offend anyone). Other communities can integrate and mix better, with friends and intermarriages between Indians and Chinese, as compared to Muslims.
Well, if you wanted to marry a Muslim, you had to become a Muslim, and that is a big step that most non-Muslims are hesitant to take.
To clarify, I'm not saying that Islam is hindering Singapore's progress to multi racialism or anything, but I'm just trying to offer my opinion on how Muslims could be less strict on Islamic observances.
As an example, in school and in some workplaces that have a uniform, Muslims are not permitted to wear head scarves. In the past, the head scarf became an issue in school and so our late founding Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, stood firm and he said (as quoted from him)," This not the schoold uniform, no, and if you want to be on the front end of the desk, you do not want to wear a headscarf, you wear this uniform. If you want to wear a scarf, you go to the back end." So, this also shows Mr Lee's view on how Muslims should be less strict on Islam observances.
Moving on to Indians, I don't think there will be an issue as there is an constant influx of them into Singapore. I personally think that these Indians believe that they could not realize their full potential in their home country, which is less-developed than Singapore, and this is what attracts them to come here. Due to the satisfactory conditions in Singapore, most of them are willing to settle down and set up families here.
As a result of the increasing influx of Indians and the declining Malay immigrants, the percentage of Indians have increased more over the years, slowly catching up to the Malays.
Anyways, I digress. I set out to talk about racial issues, but somehow I ended up discussing popoulation percentages instead haha... I guess racial harmony is something that is special to Singapore, something that most countries do not have. It is special because of what our leader believed in, that every race was equal and should be given a place in society.
So back to the speech, I feel that the picture really represents Singapore and shows why Singapore is special. I guess this is all.
XOXO,
Chee Wen
POVERTY IN SINGAPORE
Yours truly took a lesson on poverty last Friday, and while it wasn't all that interesting (not complaining though), I had a few thoughts I really wanted to share, but did not have the chance to. Truth to be told, I've never given much thought to poverty in my country, because from young we have been educated that Singapore is a rich country, that Singapore is the creme de la creme of its counterparts, and that Singapore is a country full of educated and well-studied people. To me (when I was young and ignorant), poverty was practically non-existent in this country, but since last year when I started walking along the streets more frequently after school, I slowly began to understand that there was more to it than I had thought.
I realize that I have been quite lucky throughout my life (Cliche line borrowed from my first post LOL). Having been born into the tiny-bit-above-average 'class' of families, I never had to worry about being hungry or having nothing to wear as my parents (self-made businessman and woman) had a relatively good income. Whenever I wanted anything, I could just hold out my hand, and sometimes show a little temper, and my parents would have no choice to give in. Personally, I think that I have taken all of these (my parent's income, business and my good life. Yes, yours truly had a great childhood.) for granted ,because it hasn't always been like this all along.
Seven years ago. I was seven then (just entered primary school), when my father's business suddenly took a nosedive into debt and loss. It was that time when I got the closest to poverty, and it was also at that time I learnt not to take things for granted. Everyday, Dad would come home late into the night (weekends included), and as he stepped into the house, I could see his palm sweating, his legs shaking, his forehead sweating. At that time, we were desperate. We sold our five-room flat, our eight-seater car, and Dad even sent both of my sisters to Malaysia (My 6-year-old sister almost started primary school there), where my grandmother would have the means to look after them. I could still remember Dad telling me that he was about to go bankrupt, and although the seven-year-old me at that time could not understand complicated words like bankrupt, I could feel his despair, his fatigue and his helplessness. Fortunately, things took a turn for the better and Dad managed to pull his business back on track.
Having gone through such a traumatic event, it has made me aware that poverty actually exists in Singapore, and at the same time has also made me aware of the experience: not having enough money,not being able to spend lavishly, and only being able to eat plain porridge with trace amounts of meat everyday after school. Of course, it also gave me the ability to empathise more with people going through dire circumstances in their life (a blessing in disguise I guess haha), as well as gifted me with the drive to help these kind of people.
Anyways, apart from my own experience, I have also noticed many
But what I find unacceptable (Note: Any information mentioned next is entirely subjected to one's personal opinion, so please, no offence taken.) is that people who just sit there with a tin can and wait for money to come to them. No matter what, they should at least find something to sell or offer a service in exchange for money instead of not putting any effort or hard work. As the (cliche, again) saying goes:" There is no free lunch in this world"
You know what....? I think I'm going to end here as this post is starting to get quite long and you guys might be getting bored. Sigh. Anyways, just for your information, I'll mostly be updating my blog on Thursdays and Saturdays, as my
Yours Truly,
Chee Wen
29th January
-XOXO-
THE AUTHOR
Hey I'm Dang Chee Wen from Singapore but you can call me Chee Wen. I'll be turning 14 on 21 February 2015........ I didn't know how to start my self-introduction, partly because I'll probably end up flattering myself and writing about the kind of person I want you to see me as, so I googled for my horoscope (Pisces, if you couldn't tell from my birthday) instead. 'Intuitive', 'compassionate', 'artistic', 'overly-trusting' and 'musical' were some of the characteristics I found. The divinations I get are so positive that almost none of them mention any flaws, without which I can't give myself a balanced (both strengths and weaknesses) introduction.
From what the horoscopes say, I might seem like a really caring person, but I am going to risk trying to sound too humble by declaring that this is undeniably not one of my strengths. (It's either that the horoscope has a mistake, or that maybe I'm unknowingly caring deep inside. Split personality alert. LOL). My outgoing and fun-loving personality has me believing that having fun is my top priority, so much so that I sometimes neglect my friends' emotions (Friends, I apologize if I had unintentionally hurt any of you in any way, but haha I didn't know you guys were so petty and held grudges :P). But of course it has gotten better over the years, as I interact with more people and equip myself with more interpersonal skills, I find that I can empathize with others better (Unintentional self-flattery).
Speaking of split personalities, I sub-categorise myself into the 'Emotional' and the 'Social'. (Yes, yours truly is an interesting person with dissociative identities). I always feel that the 'Social' part of me is more playful, outgoing, joking, carefree, kind of the type of personality I would portray when around large groups of people, whereas the 'Emotional' part of me has a more serious, understanding, come-and-talk-to-me-if-you-have-problems kind of personality. And so, I hope that the 'Social' me will be a friend that others will go to if they just want to have fun and fool around, while the 'Emotional' me will be someone that others could go to for a heart-to heart, one-to-one talk. Somehow, this creates some sort of balance in my character. 'Social' me is the one with adventurous, overly ambitious, I-want-to-be-president type of goals, while 'Emotional' me will be down-to-earth, realistic and show 'Social' the line between possible and impossible.
Of course, this balance also allows me to feel secure: Other people's opinions do not matter much to me and I do not have to constantly seek approval to reassure myself. My own self-worth is built upon my personality/personalities, and whatever that the 'Social' side of me is lacking in, the 'Emotional' side of me will always make up for it. Needless to say, my emotional state is rarely affected by my environment, which is one of the reasons I have a poker face (of course it's an entirely different case when I go into 'Emotional' mode). Another reason is because I look handsome with a poker face. LOL
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| Talked so much my tongue hurt. |
Yours Truly,
Chee Wen
24 January 2015
P.S. The picture above was taken who knows when and it took me ages to fish that out so that I could show you guys my non-poker-face form
P.P.S. Oh and in case you still didn't know, if 'yours truly' pops out in any of my posts, it is referring to me, your beloved author :)
P.P.P.S. Sorry for the many P.S-es, but the self-introduction post came later than my holiday post, because the post on my holiday was a rather last-minute one. Oops.
-XOXO-
Yours truly went on a Malaysia trip to my cousin's place (an annual affair) during the December holidays and while school has already started, I miss the slow-pace life I had in Malaysia. If I had to give it a description, it was a really the perfect trip to do some soul-searching, self-reflection and life-pondering. In the past, going on Malaysia trips only meant fun to me: I would come back boasting about the laksa I had across the street, bragging about the fish that I caught in the river at the foot of the Penang Hill. But this year, I got to witness for myself many issues that we have discussed (superficially) in school, and also got to face head on with some feelings and thoughts which have been at the back of my head for who knows how long.
I realize that my life has been quite lucky. (Sheesh, what a cliche line, did I just type that). In Singapore, where I grew up in, I was always part of the majority 'species' - the Chinese. Even as of now, I study in a Chinese school and do not have much non-Chinese friends, except for some primary school classmates (which I'm sure I would most probably forget about).
Racial discrimination and prejudice are nothing new. I have studied this topic in primary school, conducted many researches, and Singapore even dedicates a day to commemorate the harmony of different races. But I realize that all these are superficial. To be able to experience it, to recognize it for what it is and to see it from the point the point of view of the one at the 'discriminated end' is another thing entirely, and also a first for me. Also, I came to understand why discrimination is such a serious issue in society, and why it should be tackled with care.
My cousins live in a place in Penang called Bukit Metarjam and it is about a 10 hour drive from SIngapore. Having gone to Penang many times, I realized I had taken my surroundings for granted, until this year when I started to notice the shocking number of Malays. Although it is a given, I haven't really given much thought to it, as I didn't know sensitive racial issues could arise.
So we were having a leisurely chat about my 16 year old cousins school life when he suddenly broke down in tears, confessing that he got bullied in school. It is not an everyday thing that we see, but it (racial discrimination and prejudice) happens, be it bullying, disciplinary action (unfairness in punishment), or opportunities in academic/job development. But the worst thing is not being able to do anything: Nobody listens to your complains, nobody empathises with you and nobody bothers about you.
Learning about my cousin's story made me acutely aware of the feeling of discrimination, and at the same time also brought along an unknown fear, which really caught me by surprise. Before, I thouht that people who were discriminated only feared being left out and ostracised, but I now understand that there is much more than that.
'Much more than that' means the constant fear that everyone is judging you, looking down on you and talking about you, as well as the unfairness in treatment between the majority and the discriminated. The fear that someone could do something nasty to you and still get away with it, the fear that you can't do anything about it. Some try to help, but only share your grievance, not your story, and say they truly understand, but do they? How tragic.
Anyways, this holiday trip was a really enriching one, and I think I'm going to end this post (because of the limited ideas that my puny brain can think of, and partly because I've already exhausted one full page).Sigh. Yours truly is feeling really apologetic for the lack of pictures in this post, because I somehow lost all my pictures (yes, yours truly is not all tech-savvy). So, officially, bye and good night. :)
P.S. Self-introduction coming soon.
-XOXO-
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